Sacrifice Pt. 01

Dragons, especially Emperor Dragons, employed senses way beyond the five used by mortals. Tied as he was to the world's magic, Grond could listen to the breeze rustling through the grass all the way across the world. So sensing what was going on in his little pet's body as it lay next to him was nothing. He could feel Andrew's body repairing itself, even undoing the damage that the dragon's magic had done to him, and making him stronger with each passing breath. He could also feel the peace and contentment and love that the lad felt for him as his mind skirted the edges of sleep.

Grond was pleased, in a way he hadn't been for ages, that this little foray into the world of mortals was turning out well. And though he would never admit out loud that he was feeling love for his fragile ephemeral little captive, he would admit to himself a growing fondness for the boy.

"Master?"

"Eh? Yes, boy? You should be sleeping, lad." Andrew stretched sleepily and hugged himself to the warm body next to him.

"My mind is whirling, Sire. I need your voice to soothe my mind. Would you favor me with a tale of your life?" Grond shook his head.

"A dragon's tales are not meant to soothe, boy. We reckon things worth remembering in a different way than you mortals." The boys pale soft lips touched against the dragons ribs.

"I want to know everything about you, my Lord. Even if it takes me to the end of my days. Tell me, if it is your wish, of one of your greatest battles. And one of your greatest triumphs." Grond sighed heavily.

"Even my greatest battle isn't a pleasant story, lad. But, if it will help you rest and cease your prattle... very well." With his face down on his Master's belly, Andrew let a little smile play across his lips at the gentle chiding.

Chapter Thirteen- A Dragons Tale

"About ten thousand years ago the elves reached the height of their power. Some of them had it in their minds that with just a little push, they could hold all of the world under their dominion. They had forgotten that there were things in this world even greater than they imagined. That great hubris and the folly of their memories led to their downfall." Idly, Grond's fingertips played over the freckled skin of the boys back.

"They had, by their reckoning, two obstacles to overcome to assume their rule over the world. Number one was the dwarves, with all of their cunning ways and the fierce way with which they fought to keep a grip on anything they assumed was theirs. Which of course included all of the metals and gems which formed deep in the earth."

"The second impediment was me and my few remaining kin who still remained above ground. Most of the lesser dragons had been slain or driven deep to the south by then. And the remainder of my kin were more interested in sleeping than plundering by that time, having grown weary of this world."

"What about the men, Master? Didn't they count?" Grond patted the boy absently.

"At that time men had not come into the power they enjoy today, lad. They were little more than scattered tribes and no real adversary for the elves. At any rate, the elves gathered a great army. The largest ever seen in the history of the world. And they split it into divisions, each to handle a certain part of their campaign. One quarter of them were dispatched to 'handle' the dwarves. The other three divisions headed for the lairs of the dragons they could find."

"But there was a fatal flaw in their plans. One thing that they had not counted on nor planned for."

"You, Master?" The thick fingers tousled the lads red hair fondly.

"Me exactly, boy. I had just moved into a new lair with my horde and, having fed, had been sleeping for over a hundred years. I'd moved in quietly... for a dragon, anyway... expecting a long nap to watch my dreams and amuse myself." He snorted derisively.

"The stupid elves marched two divisions around either side of my horde mountain, never suspecting I was there. I, of course, had awakened when they were several leagues away and crouched, waiting for them to attack. When they marched on past I was dumbfounded. At first I was insulted. As if they dared to imagine I wasn't a foe worth encountering. When I realized their true folly I was amused."

"But when I peered out to watch the fools march right past my cavern I spied two things that raised my anger and sealed their fate. One... in the forefront of their caravan there was a large wagon carrying the head of one of my lesser brethren. They were bearing it like a standard of their victory, as if seeing that would make any true dragon despair. And two... in the rear among the baggage was the plundered horde. They had it sealed away in casks and chests but I could smell the gold and riches as if they were in plain sight."

The young man shivered a little and hugged the warmth of his Master to him. "Did... did you take it from them, Master?" Grond chuckled, deep in his chest.

"Most certainly I did, little pet. Looking ahead, I saw that their forces were marching through a narrow pass between two mountains not far away. A stupid tactical mistake on their part. I waited until the majority of their force was on the other side and then I sprung. Striking one mountain and then the other, I threw great chunks of the cliffs down on them, crushing many of their soldiers and sealing the gap with tons of stone. Falling then on their rear guard, I slew them by the hundreds and carried away not only their stolen treasure but all of their supplies as well. That great elven army could do naught but clash their shields in fury at how they had been played the fool. Summoning my greatest and hottest fire, I melted the rockfall blocking the pass until it was as smooth as glass so not even the nimblest elf could climb it, even if he could have taken the heat. That mass of stone glowed red for five nights. I knew from the lay of the land it would take them weeks at best to circumvent the mountains and return to a place where they could track me again."

"I returned to my cavern with my treasure and a small handful of captives that I had left alive. Once inside I proceeded to question them about their campaign. As you can imagine, it didn't take me long to convince them to talk freely."

Andrew shivered hard again. Even though he was a stout hearted and stalwart guardsman and well trained, he was discovering that learning the ways of dragons was not at all easy on the nerves. "I don't think... that I will ask about your... methods, my Lord." Grond chuckled again and tousled the boys hair lightly.

"A wise choice, lad."

"I had learned that a powerful king and queen had united the elves and begun this war to meet their own dreams of dominance. They had three daughters who were powerful sorceresses. With their great magics powering their designs, they thought they could easily control the world in short order. The only conclusion that I could arrive at from this was that the ruling family must be insane."

"Why do you say that, Master?" Grond chuckled, a sound deep in his chest like slabs of granite grinding together.

"You know so little about the world, little pet. Elven kind as a rule do not seek dominion. True, they will defend what is theirs fiercely and to the death, but they rarely if ever seek to expand their borders. No, boy... Elves fight only to defend. It is their way. So for them to be attempting to defeat both the dwarves and the dragons at the same time surely had to be a sign of insanity on their part."

"Anyway, I decided that it was up to me to end this madness once and for all. Whether they won or lost it would have upset the equilibrium of the world and disrupted my occasional supplies of food and riches. This could not be allowed to continue." Grond's face hardened into an inscrutable mask, clouding his thoughts.

"Once I had wrung all of the information from my captives as possible, I... dispatched them.." He shot a look at his pet as the lad cuddled next to his body, well aware that he didn't need to burden the boy with too much information. "Then I sealed my lair and flew at once to the elven stronghold, determined to end this folly once and for all."

"Approaching from on high, I could see the keep surrounded by a small army of their finest warriors there to protect the royal household. A thousand warriors or so. I was neither impressed, nor worried. I am Grond, after all. The mightiest of the Emperor dragons! Scourge of the earth! A thousand elves would fill my belly nicely."

"Summoning my fire, I dove on the battlements as a thick blanket of arrows flew upwards."

"What I did not reckon in my plans was the power and cunning of the witch daughters of the king. They had set about the keep what they referred to as a 'lesser form' spell. One of many incantations they had ringing the walls. Once I had breached it, the spell locked me in my human form. Bereft of my wings, I plummeted to the earth with a mighty crash." Andrew let out a small gasp.

"Did they capture you, my Lord?" The dragon looked askance at the smaller man, one eyebrow raised and snorted in disgust.

"Certainly not. The fall fazed me only a little and I leapt up and entered the fray immediately." Grond sighed almost wistfully. "Although you have been trained in combat boy, you have never experienced a battle as took place that day. Naked I fell to earth and that was how I met them. At first I slew them with rocks and my bare hands as they swarmed at me. Then I grabbed up weapons and shields from their own ranks. Even though their largest swords were puny in my hands I broke dozens of them as I waded into the slaughter."

"They never stood a chance before me, even though I was just a man."

"Did you kill all of them, my Lord?"

"All except one, lad. One young elf I left lamed and wounded but alive on the battlements as I fought my way inside. I battled with them all through the night. Their archers fired arrows and I brushed them aside. Their infantry rushed me and I broke them again and again. They hurled magics at me and I caught them and threw them back, laughing as I scattering their ranks. As we fought further and further into the keep they got more desperate. The elves threw up defenses and I threw them down. Each of their ambushes failed, leaving behind more scattered dead and dying." The little redheaded mans eyes were wide at the tale.

"Then, as the dawn broke over the horizon, I slew the final vanguard left to protect the royal family and smashed open the doors to the throne room. The elven king, his eyes glazed in madness and terror, rushed at me with some ancient sword which bristled with magic. I snapped it on my forearm and tore the stub from his grasp. With his own sword I hewed his head from his shoulders and tossed it blinking back up onto his empty throne."

"Now all that were left were the Queen Mother and her witch daughters, clustered in a corner and trapped. Though they tried to look haughty and aloof in the way that elves are want to do, I could see the same madness and terror in their eyes."

"Looming before them I roared. 'Break the spell!' And they stood mute. 'Break the spell and bring your armies home and I may yet allow your race to continue.' But they were adamant. The queen flew at me, shrieking 'We will destroy you and all of your kind, monster!' With one hand I grasped her by the throat and crushed it, feeling the bones shatter in my fingers. I tossed her twitching body aside and advanced on the sorceresses who were the root of all of this madness."

"In their pride they thought their magic was stronger than mine. With a wave of my hand, I rooted them in place, barely allowing them to breathe. Another wave tore the clothes from their bodies, leaving them naked before me. Now..." Grond chuckled softly and patted the smaller man on the back. "I am sure you are quite aware of the effect of naked flesh on me, lad. In one form it merely makes me hungry. In another form it makes me hungry in... quite another way."

Andrew shivered but did not speak.

"Even though they were my enemy, I could admit they were quite comely. As their eyes widened in horror I grew hard before them. Elves place a high regard on abstinence when it comes to sorcery even though in the long run it does not matter one bit. These elven princesses were virgins all. None of them had even seen a man naked, let alone one as large as I. I was determined to further their education before they died."

"Without a word I grabbed the eldest daughter, the one with the haughtiest expression on her lips, and threw her onto the throne next to her fathers head. I grabbed her ankles, spread her legs wide and took her. She shrieked as I entered her and kept screaming as I took her. It amused me to imagine those dead eyes of her father were still watching. As I climaxed inside of her she immediately burst into flames. My magic clashed with hers and she lost the battle immediately. The fire claimed her and the throne and his head, all gone in seconds."

"The other two stood transfixed, mouths open in horror. 'Break the spell!' I roared again. 'Break the spell and give up this madness and you may live!' But they said nothing."

"I grabbed the middle daughter and threw her face down to the floor over her mothers body. 'Break the spell.' She screamed 'Never, demon!' One hand wrapped in her hair, I took her that way as if she were a man. I barely even had time to enjoy it before another shrieking elf princess was consumed by the fire, leaving naught of her and her mother but a pile of ash."

"And then there was one. The youngest and comeliest of them all. Under other circumstances I would have considered keeping her. But... no. Those pale silver elven eyes rolled with madness. As I approached she fell to her knees and screamed 'Give me your magic, monster! Give it to me and we can rule the world together!' As if I needed her help with that." Grond snorted.

"You would not survive my magic, child" I said as I stepped closer. But she grasped me and pulled me in chanting 'Give it to me! Give it to me! Give it to me!' over and over again. Clearly she was beyond all reason. It was with just a hint of regret and a small measure of mercy that I allowed her to take me in her mouth, trying her inexperienced best to suck the magic from my flesh like a vampire. As the first drop of my seed hit the back of her throat, the princess's eyes lit up like lanterns from the inside. In the moments before she was consumed I could see that she understood at least part of the enormity of what she had just done. Then she was gone."

The dragon was silent for along moment, lost in reverie. The young man huddled at his side was also lost in thought. It startled and puzzled him some he had survived at least part of what had instantly destroyed those who were so powerful. Elves! And powerful magic users, at that. Those who lived so long they were almost immortal. Gone in a blink. Yet he still lived.

It took a sigh from his master to bring Andrew back to the tale.

"Sire? What of the other elf? The one you left alive? And what of the spell?"

"The spell was broken the instant the last daughter expired, lad. I could feel it deep in my bones. I was once again able to become what I am. Perched high on the smoking ruin of their fortress, I bellowed in triumph, a roar that was heard for hundreds of leagues. I considered briefly melting the keep down into a pile of slag as a monument to their folly. Instead I burrowed down deep inside their lowest strongrooms and gathered all of the treasure I could find, heaping it up before the castle walls. It was more than just compensation for the trouble they had given me."

"Returning to my less frightening form, I rescued the young elf I had left intact and bound his wounds, treating him more tenderly than I wished or he expected. Patiently I counseled him on the folly he and his brethren had wrought both upon me and upon the land. Long we spoke until finally he understood and agreed on what must be done. And what must be undone. Then I placed him on horseback and told him to ride out, find their armies, and return them home once more. That order he complied with and within a month all of the elves had returned home and were rebuilding their fortress anew. But this time with an eye towards defense, rather than conquest. As a matter of fact..." A chuckle deep inside Grond's chest that echoed like slabs of granite rubbing together resounded off the walls of the room. "That same young elf quickly became first a commander and then a king, establishing a new line that continues today. Hmmm..." His free hand rubbed his jaw. "Faranir, I believe his name was..."

"Faranir!" thought Andrew. "The greatest and wisest elven king in all of the tales!" As his mind drifted off into sleep he idly wondered how much wisdom could be gleaned from a dragons words... And if he'd live long enough to benefit from that wisdom.

Chapter Fourteen

Andrew woke, missing the now familiar heat of his masters body. The huge bed was now strangely vacant and it left him feeling a little forlorn. As the young captive realized that he missed Grond being around it startled him a bit. "Imagine that..." he chuckled lightly. "I'm sad because there isn't a dragon in this cavern!"

Wondering where his master might be he came to another startling revelation. He could feel that Grond was nowhere in the cavern labyrinth or even on the mountain at all! He could sense it as if looking in the same room. Closing his eyes, Andrew stretches his senses, questing outward to seek the man he wanted. There was a brief flash of brightest blue clarity before there was a rush like a great wind in his ears. His mind whirled, his stomach rolled and Andrew sat down on the smooth stone floor with a sudden thump, bringing him back to reality. It took just a moment for his mind to process what he had just experienced.

Grond was flying! And just for the briefest of moments their senses had been linked. The glimpsed vista of the earth so very far below him had scared him in ways he didn't even want to think about just then.

It seemed that his latest infusion of the dragon's magical elixir was still changing him. In ways that he had never even considered.

Shaking his head to stabilize his ears and settle his nerves, he got up and headed for the larder to prepare some breakfast. The greatest of all dragons always returned home hungry and his loyal and willing captive wanted to see Grond's smile upon his return.

"So you did survive."

After all this time Andrew MacMeel was used to the big man's silent ways and even though he was startled once again, he kept from dropping the skillet. With only a slight twitch he resumed scooping eggs and sausages onto the platter that his master ate from. Part of his mind wondered if Grond snuck up on him merely for his own amusement. The barest hint of a smile on that normally stony face bore credence to his idling. Was he smiling because I survived or because he managed to startle me again?

Or both?

"Yes Master. I did indeed. And... the strangest thing..."

"You were in my mind." Stone-faced once again, Grond stood and stared from the depths of his hood. He sounded displeased. Instantly, Andrew stopped and lowered his eyes to the floor, his heart sinking.

"I... I am sorry, Master! I didn't mean to! It just... happened..."

There were long seconds of silence in the room. Andrew's heart sank even lower. Then in an eye-blink of motion, Grond was before him, hood swept back. Those huge strong hands cupped each side of the young redheads cheeks and tipped his head back to gaze into his face. The great greenish gold orbs of the dragons eyes seemed for a moment to swell in size until they encompassed all existence. That gaze quested inside of him, laying his entire mind bare before the great monster who now owned his life and heart and soul.